College of Education and Human Development

Administration

External Advisory Council

The USM College of Education and Human Development’s (USM CEHD) External Advisory Council advises the College leadership on direction and general advancement with particular emphasis on how to enhance the relevance of CEHD’s teaching, scholarship, service; outreach to Maine and the country; the connections between CEHD and key constituencies and audiences; and the public’s understanding of CEHD’s programs and initiatives.

The following distinguished leaders in the education, business, and public sectors are currently represented on the External Advisory Council:

• Jill Blackwood, USM ’83
• David Chute, USM ‘65
• Martha Freeman USM ’96
• Catherine Martin
• Susan Gendron, USM ’73 and ‘84
• Gary MacDonald, USM ‘81
• Nancy St. John Pond, USM ’82 and ‘95
• Dr. John “Jack” Sutton, Jr., USM ‘72
• Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, USM ’74 & ’82

	Jill Blackwood, USM ’83 (South Portland) is the Principal of Riverton School and Community Center in Portland. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she received her MSED in Literacy Education in 1983 from the University of Southern Maine and a certificate from The Maine Academy for School Leaders in 1993. Blackwood has 14 years of teaching experience at the early childhood, elementary and middle levels and has been an elementary school administrator in Portland for 13 years.
	David Chute, USM ‘65 (South Portland) has been involved with banking and education for 40 years. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts from the University of Southern Maine in 1965. He taught math at Windham High School in 1966 and entered and served in the U.S. Army until 1969, when he was discharged as a Captain. Chute joined the Maine National Bank in 1970 and served as Operations and Loan Officer for 13 years. He was promoted to Investment Officer and Senior Investment Officer in the Trust Department. In 1991, he joined Maine Bank and Trust to develop a new Trust Department. He currently serves as the Chief Investment Officer at Maine Bank and Trust. He started teaching in the early 1970s for the American Institute of Banking. Since then, he has taught a dozen different courses and developed several specialized courses. He currently teaches correspondent, on-line, and live courses at the Center for Financial Training of Northern New England. He was awarded the Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2001.
	Martha Freeman USM ’96 (Portland) is the Director of the Maine State Planning Office. Prior to joining the administration, Freeman served as Director of the Maine Legislature's Office of Policy and Legal Analysis and as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General. Freeman also worked as a public-policy and management consultant, a counselor in private practice, and an author writing about the environment. Freeman has a law degree from the University of Maine’s School of Law and a Master's Degree from the University of Maine Graduate Program in Clinical Counseling.
	Catherine Martin (Cumberland Foreside) is co-director of the Maine Montessori Institute, a teacher training program. She is a Registered Nurse, and is certified K-12 in regular and special education, as well as Montessori certification birth-6. Martin graduated from St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing (New York City) and received her Master’s of Education from the University of Maine. From 1994-2002, Martin owned, taught and was the director at Winfield Children's House in Falmouth
	Susan Gendron, USM ’73 and ‘84 (Raymond) is the Commissioner of the Maine Department of Education. Prior to joining the administration, Gendron served as the Superintendent of Schools for the Windham School Department and as Assistant Superintendent, Director of Learning, and Coordinator of Instruction and Related Services in the Scarborough School Department. Prior to these positions, she was selected by the Maine Department of Education to be an Instructional Support Consultant presenting the Education Reform Act to school systems throughout the state. Gendron has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Southern Maine’s College of Education and Human Development. She is the recipient of USM’s 2006 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.
	Gary MacDonald, USM ‘81 (Conway, NH) is the Superintendent of Maine School Administrative District (SAD) 72, where he has worked for 23 years. He has been a teacher at all grade levels, including a teaching principal. MacDonald was Maine Principal of the Year in 1991. During his career, MacDonald has also worked as a Guidance Counselor and a Curriculum Coordinator. In the early 1990s, he served as the Executive Director of New Hampshire Alliance for Effective Schools, a consortium of major educational players in New Hampshire; he directed the Alliance’s School Improvement Program. A graduate of Marietta College, he received his Master’s in Education Leadership in 1981 from the University of Southern Maine.
	Nancy St. John Pond, USM ’82 and ‘95 (Cape Elizabeth) is a former elementary school teacher, who also served as a public school principal for ten years. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education in 1982 and Master’s of Science in Educational Administration in 1995 from the University of Southern Maine. She is presently serving as President of the non-profit Pond Family Foundation, an organization that focuses on the primary needs of community members in greater Portland.
	Dr. John “Jack” Sutton, Jr., USM ‘72 (Falmouth) is a professor emeritus of counselor education at USM’s College of Education and Human Development. He retired in 2005 after teaching 26 years. Sutton earned a national reputation in the field of clinical supervision and is praised for not only training students entering the field, but, at the same time, for helping to shape the profession on a state and national level. In his 26 years at USM, Sutton helped establish the school psychology and mental health counseling degree programs in response to a statewide need for graduate-level training in those areas.
	Jeanne Whynot-Vickers, USM ’74 & ’82 (Portland) Jeanne Whynot-Vickers is Assistant Superintendent of Portland Public Schools. She has served in this capacity since 1998. Prior, Whynot-Vickers was Principal of the Riverton Elementary School in Portland and the Alice Sawyer School in South Portland, and was Assistant Principal of the Jack Elementary School in Portland. For nearly 10 years prior to those experiences, she was a classroom teacher in grades 1, 4, 5, and 6. She received her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education in 1874 and her Master’s in Counseling in 1982 from the University of Southern Maine.